Oil analysis gauges equipment lifeblood

Ken Hill uses a simple metaphor to emphasize the importance of oil analysis: the oil in your

“If you’re going to spend good money on the lubricants out there, and you’re going to pay a premium price for it, you need to learn how to keep them clean and dry," says Ken Hill, vice-president, WearCheck Lubrication Services LLC

equipment is its blood; and oil analysis is like a check-up at the doctor.

Lubricating oils prevent friction damage to equipment parts, acts as coolants, and help drain contamination from equipment when lubricants are changed, says Hill, vice-president of sales and marketing for WearCheck Lubrication Services LLC.

This is doubly or triply important for service truck operators, who have to worry not only about the engine in their own truck, but about the equipment they’re maintaining, as well as supplementary equipment on the service truck.

“Without lubricating oil there, you’re going to end up having a lot of wear generating and a lot of contamination inside the engine itself,” Hill says.

Hill says that labs like WearCheck’s will compare the amount of wear metals in a sample, and the condition of the oil itself to threshold limits established by the original equipment manufacturer. If one sample shows 85 parts per million of iron, and the next sample jumps to 200, for example, it reveals that there is likely some form of major internal wear on the engine.

Know your oil type

“We need to know the oil type,” says Hill, who is based in Manchester, Pa. “We need to know the oil manufacturer, because different manufacturers use different amounts of the additive package that’s in there. So they want all the information the lab can get from the end user, (that) being the make, model of the engine, the oil type and how much oil is in there. How old is the engine? Does it have 500,000 miles or does it have 100,000 miles on it? We look at all that information combined to actually come up with a diagnosis that will be beneficial to the end user themselves.”

Hill says that historically many companies only pursued oil analysis when required by the equipment’s OEM for an extended warranty. However, in the past 15 years, he has slowly noticed more and more attention being given to the topic.

Being aware of how to properly maintain lubricating oils is another matter entirely, though.

“If you’re going to spend good money on the lubricants out there, and you’re going to pay a premium price for it, you need to learn how to keep them clean and dry,” Hill says. “Is it coming out of a drum that’s wide-open on the shop floor? Or is it in a storage system to where it’s contained and it’s locked up?”

Hill gave a presentation on oil analysis at the triennial ConExpo-Con/Agg heavy equipment trade show in Las Vegas in March 2017. According to his speaker’s bio on the ConExpo website, Hill has over 30 years experience in analysis of used lubricants and is certified as an equipment support professional through the Association of Equipment Management Professionals.

He told Service Truck Magazine that you could use the most expensive oil in the world and it won’t make a difference if it’s not properly maintained. Proper maintenance is not just for larger companies with bigger bankrolls. Hill says he often hears complaints from smaller firms about the cost of oil analysis, but he says that neglecting it is a crucial mistake.

Preventing catastrophes

“If I’ve got a truck that I just paid $85,000 for, I definitely want to make sure it’s maintained properly and I want to know when stuff’s going on internally,” Hill says. “If you do have a problem, and it’s under warranty, then you can take it right to the OEM or your dealer and, hopefully, they’ll fix it under a warranty claim for you.”

Hill warns that OEM-mandated oil analysis and oil changing may not be enough. Ordinarily, the OEM will require an oil change every 250 to 500 hours. However, much can happen in those first 250 hours and again between 250 and 500 hours. Monitoring and sampling your oil could help prevent catastrophic failures.

“People are actually starting to pay attention to this, because they’re realizing that by analyzing your equipment on a specific timeline, instead of saying ‘Well, I’ll analyze it if I think I have a problem,’ there’s an internal benefit there,” Hill says. “If you just save a client, say, one engine — these days a Class A engine’s going to run you about $60,000 — that’s going to pay for the analysis program for a couple of years by doing that.”